Ecospeed Rudder Coatings in Demand

Shipyards in China and Estonia treated the rudders of 8 vessels belonging to 5 different owners (4 of them return customers) in past two months.

These owners, say Hydrex's Ecospeed, had experienced firsthand the devastating effect of cavitation on rudders coated with a traditional coating system. For this reason they decided to use Ecospeed to ensure lasting protection against corrosion and erosion damage for the rudders of their vessels for the remainder of their service life.

Tests in a flow channel, carried out in Grenoble, have confirmed that Ecospeed performs extremely well under severe cavitation. This has been backed up by many success stories. The rudder of the 195-meter container vessel, Marie Delmas, for instance, was still in excellent condition when the ship came into drydock after sailing for five years with Ecospeed.

Rudder protection is best begun at the newbuild stage. Ecospeed will remain intact for the lifetime of the vessel and is guaranteed for ten years. At the most, touch-ups amounting to less than 1% of the surface area will be required. Planning the maintenance of the vessel’s stern area therefore becomes much easier.

The newbuild phase is the perfect time to apply Ecospeed, but the coating can also be used to protect vessels that have been in service for some time and are already facing cavitation and corrosion damage.

More information on the effect of cavitation and some case studies can be found in Hydrex White Paper No. 6: 'Rudder cavitation damage solved', which is available for download for free at www.shiphullperformance.org